FederalDaily - April 13, 2007

Pentagon Announces Longer Deployments

At a Pentagon news briefing on April 11, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that active Army units now in Iraq and Afghanistan—and those headed there—will deploy for up to 15 months and will return to home stations for not less than 12 months. Gates called the new policy, which is effective immediately, “a difficult but necessary interim step,” but said that without it, the Army would have had to deploy five active-duty brigades without meeting the goal of 12 months at home. “I believe it is fair to all soldiers that all share the burden equally,” he said. In response to the announcement, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., released a statement commending Gates for making the move to “bring greater predictability and clarity regarding the deployment of our military overseas rather than allowing creeping deployment extensions.” But he called the announcement “a stark admission that the administration’s policies in Iraq are doing permanent damage to our military” and that it stood as “a clear acknowledgment” that the military is being forced to ignore its own deployment standards. Hagel warned that the additional strains posed by the policy could endanger the country’s ability to react to any other threat, and called for “legislatively-mandated readiness and deployment standards.” To see more, go to: http://hagel.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&
PressRelease_id=219523&Month=4&Year=2007.

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AFGE Council Criticizes SSA Nominee

The National Social Security Council of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) on April 12 criticized President Bush’s choice for principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA). AFGE said Bush’s pick, Andrew Biggs, most recently SSA deputy commissioner for policy and a former senior analyst for the conservative CATO Institute, “has spent his career advocating the privatization of Social Security, a move which would jeopardize the Social Security benefits of millions of Americans.” Council President Witold Skwierczynski called the selection “a seriously flawed decision.” AFGE said that while Bush nominated Biggs to the post of deputy commissioner in November, the nomination was dismissed without a hearing by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., “as a non-starter” based on Biggs’ privatization views. “The president knew that Mr. Biggs would have no chance at confirmation. He circumvented the political process through the recess appointment, forcing the appointment of his rejected nominee,” Skwierczynski said. “This appointment politicizes the Social Security Administration.” The council, officially known as the National Council of SSA Field Operations Locals (AFGE Council 220), represents about 28,000 SSA employees who work in field offices and call centers. For more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=727.

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FAA, VA Join to Offer Job Training Opportunities to Disabled Vets

A new program will give veterans with disabilities access to on-the-job training to become air traffic controllers or technicians who install and repair air traffic equipment. The program, called “A Hero to the Nation – A Hero to the Skies,” is a joint effort between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The program will let vets take advantage of VA vocational rehabilitation benefits while training for air traffic control and airway transportation systems specialist positions. Veterans will be trained at the FAA’s Academy in Oklahoma City, Okla., and will complete the same training requirements as other employees in similar positions. Successful graduates of the program will be eligible for an FAA appointment and will enter the selection process. FAA officials expect the program to aid the agency’s air traffic controller hiring goals, as well as attain long-term career placement for veterans. Veterans with disabilities interested in the program can apply through the VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) offices located in each state. To get more information on VR&E programs, go to: www.vetsuccess.gov.

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